I've been a fan of the Fallout franchise for 6 years now. I own all of the games (yes, even Brotherhood of Steel) and I have beat every main game at least twice.
I'm also really excited for Fallout 4.
I am 21. Unlike most people around my age, I wasn't introduced to Fallout through Fallout 3. Well...I kinda was. But it wasn't the first I played. When I was 15 one of my friends was telling me about this awesome game called Fallout 3, a RPG/FPS hybrid game where you explore a 50's-styled post-apocalyptic world. I'm a big fan of RPGs, First-Person Shooters, post-apocalyptic settings, and 50's aesthetic. So Fallout 3 sounded like the perfect game for me.
I really wanted to play Fallout 3 but at the time I didn't own a PC or a console capable of playing it. I wondered "It's called Fallout Three, what about the first two"? So I looked up the Fallout games and found out they were from the 90's, and I was like "Hey these games are really old! I can play these on my crappy PC"!
So I went on Amazon and bought the Fallout Trilogy (which had Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout tactics, not Fallout 3). I played Fallout and Fallout 2 for months and I loved them! Fallout 2 is still one of my favorite RPGs to this day, I even replayed it just a few months ago. The original Fallout is alright, I still like it and replay it occasionally, but Fallout 2 is so much better that it kinda ruined the first game for me. I didn't like Tactics, even thought I really wanted to. (I tried damn it, I really tried!)
Years later, I think around 2011 (I know it was after Skyrim came out) I finally played Fallout 3 (I had a PS3 by this point). And again, like Fallout 2, it's one of my favorite RPGs and I still love it to this day. Like it said, it was basically the perfect game for me. I'm even playing it right now to get ready for Fallout 4! I didn't like the story or the characters very much, but I love the setting and how immersive it is. It's just so fun to explore! To this day I'm still finding new stuff in the game!
Fallout: New Vegas is my favorite Fallout game. It combined the exploration and immersion I loved about Fallout 3 with the great storytelling and writing that the original Fallouts had. I actually like New Vega's story the most out of every Fallout game (and most RPGs in general). It's the best of both worlds!
Now I own a $1000 or so gaming rig and I'm eagerly awaiting Fallout 4. So far I like everything I've seen about it.
tl;dr: An annoying friend wouldn't shut up about Fallout 3 so I played the old games and now I love the Fallout franchise.
So, how were you introduced to the Fallout franchise?